Roller coaster I: Get Us (The Parents) Through Plebe Year - Class of ‘26 🎢

I am still incredibly close to my friends from USNA. I just got a text from my buddy who is a retired Navy pilot who now flies private planes here and there. He sent me a link to his flight as he managed to fly over my office and dip his wings to say hi. They are life long friends, regardless of how long you go between visits. We have attended each others weddings, watched kids grow up, bury friends and family together and watch our lives unfold.
 
As a 2/C, DS has already spent more time, and stress-induced time with his shipmates and roommates than any other people in his life. 24/7 since IDay, and even more time when you consider Covid lockdowns and no liberty. No shot at getting away from anyone. Their bonds will be forever, I have no doubt. I am so looking forward to hugging his roommates next week.

Seeing that photo of Travis and Brendan's USNA Bancroft room plate makes me tear up every time. The next time I visit Arlington, I will pay my respects.
 
Son said at the pep rally tonight, a random plebe came up to him and said, "Are you C***er? I sat behind you at meals during the summer. You are the funniest dude ever!" Son said it made his day.

I told him these are his brothers and sisters now. You never know the impact you have.
 
The kid did ProKnow #2 on Monday after getting back from his overnight liberty. Didn't do so hot with it as he made some (his words) dumb mistakes. I asked what that meant for him, and he said will have some extra mandatory study time and has to write some letters. He was frustrated because he knew the material, just misread one question and only did half of another one ("list and describe" and only did the "list" part).

He said they have to get a 90 to pass. 80 - 89 is a "Company fail," 70 - 79 is a "Battalion fail," and 69 and under is a "Brigade fail," and a big old "Oh sh-t" moment. He didn't get THAT at least! ;)
 
IronmanDaremo said:
The kid did ProKnow #2 on Monday after getting back from his overnight liberty. Didn't do so hot with it as he made some (his words) dumb mistakes. I asked what that meant for him, and he said will have some extra mandatory study time and has to write some letters. He was frustrated because he knew the material, just misread one question and only did half of another one ("list and describe" and only did the "list" part).

He said they have to get a 90 to pass. 80 - 89 is a "Company fail," 70 - 79 is a "Battalion fail," and 69 and under is a "Brigade fail," and a big old "Oh sh-t" moment. He didn't get THAT at least! ;)
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I was a little surprised about the passing vs. failing number 90 or better! Seems like DS said that about Chemistry or Calc quizzes too, not just ProKnow. Seems like it is more of get an A or fail kind of prospect. Sure there is a reason. What happens with Battalion or Brigade level fails?
 
He didn't say. But he did get a 79, so I think he counts as a Battalion fail and the extra study and letters are his pennance .........

For academic classes? Totally a guess, but they have the 6 week, 12 week, and final exams, so maybe they try to bolster their grades before they potentially get whacked down by a mediocre test grade?? No idea if that is the case.
 
IronmanDaremo said:
But he did get a 79, so I think he counts as a Battalion fai
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I would guess that he was not the only reason the Battalion failed. I suspect there are more.
I haven't asked my MID about any ProKnow quiz grades. He was on the yard the entire weekend so maybe he found time to study that stuff.
 
Batt fails are different for each battalion. Every company has their own minimum passing requirement, for example I know a few companies with a passing score of a 95. If you batt fail, you do the remedial policy and same thing for brigade. If you fail batt/brigade you have to bring your fire team in, and I've heard it's not fun having to ask your upperclassmen to attend a proknow study session during study period.
 
ParachutePanda said:
Batt fails are different for each battalion. Every company has their own minimum passing requirement, for example I know a few companies with a passing score of a 95. If you batt fail, you do the remedial policy and same thing for brigade. If you fail batt/brigade you have to bring your fire team in, and I've heard it's not fun having to ask your upperclassmen to attend a proknow study session during study period.
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My DS likes his fire team and I'm sure doesn't want to bother them. Do you know if they keep the same fire team as long as they are in that company? Hope all is going well for you too!
 
IronmanDaremo said:
He was frustrated because he knew the material, just misread one question
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Pro Tip ..applies anywhere in the Navy -- RTFQ/ATFQ -- Read the , er, Full Question.... Answer the Question.
Parent1stTimer said:
Seems like it is more of get an A or fail kind of prospect. Sure there is a reason.
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Pro Knowledge is not rocket science; you either know or you don't, and frankly if you don't, its usually because you didn't try hard enough (ie. not your priority). USNA exists to build Naval and Marine Corps officers, not college graduates, so pro knowledge is a priority. It doesn't go away when you get to the Fleet -- we had NATOPS tests every year, and Threat/RECCEE and Area Operating Procedures tests as part of pre deployment Operational Readiness Exercises (ORE), and the bar for failure was very high. A C average doesn't cut it when lives are at stake.
ParachutePanda said:
Batt fails are different for each battalion. Every company has their own minimum passing requirement, for example I know a few companies with a passing score of a 95
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Like anything else in the Navy, negative attention from above is something to be avoided. I am sure that the Battalion Officer gets a report of any score below a cutoff, and Company Officers set their bar above where the Battalion cutoff to help prioritize and avoid having any Plebe from their Company on the list.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Pro Tip ..applies anywhere in the Navy -- RTFQ/ATFQ -- Read the , er, Full Question.... Answer the Question.

Pro Knowledge is not rocket science; you either know or you don't, and frankly if you don't, its usually because you didn't try hard enough (ie. not your priority). USNA exists to build Naval and Marine Corps officers, not college graduates, so pro knowledge is a priority. It doesn't go away when you get to the Fleet -- we had NATOPS tests every year, and Threat/RECCEE and Area Operating Procedures tests as part of pre deployment Operational Readiness Exercises (ORE), and the bar for failure was very high. A C average doesn't cut it when lives are at stake.

Like anything else in the Navy, negative attention from above is something to be avoided. I am sure that the Battalion Officer gets a report of any score below a cutoff, and Company Officers set their bar above where the Battalion cutoff to help prioritize and avoid having any Plebe from their Company on the list.
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Yes to all above.

ProKnow is military business acumen 101, learning the profession, becoming literate in the field, arguably more immediately applicable than most academic courses to actual performance of day-to-day duties as a junior officer. At Navy OCS, of course I already had my undergraduate degree, so it was like standing in front of a fire hose getting all the ProKnow and ProDev courses non-stop at high pressure. People who didn’t succeed at learning about the military they were now taking a paycheck from and expected to commission into washed out with repeated failure in this area. The memorization skills paid off many times over, the foundational knowledge was essential to avoid being completely clueless in joining the Fleet, and it made me feel as if I was now a part of something far bigger than myself. Once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it. It is akin to learning a new language and can be painful.
 
Parent1stTimer said:
My DS likes his fire team and I'm sure doesn't want to bother them. Do you know if they keep the same fire team as long as they are in that company? Hope all is going well for you too!
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Fire teams change every semester along with company leadership. There will be a new CC, XO, Platoon Commanders, Squad Leaders, Training Staff, etc. This is pretty representative of the military in general. People tend to shift jobs or tours once they are starting to get really good. And there is the common wisdom that a unit is always one change of command away from going from good to bad or vice versa.
 
Well, this should be a good learning experience for him! We've been telling him since middle school to slow the f==k down, double check his work. Eventually, maybe that point will stick. :p
 
Parent1stTimer said:
My DS likes his fire team and I'm sure doesn't want to bother them. Do you know if they keep the same fire team as long as they are in that company? Hope all is going well for you too!
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The fire team is there specifically for the growth of everyone in the team. Your son should not feel like a burden for reaching out to his youngster or fire team leader. Fire teams change throughout the year.
 
Fire team is a smaller group within your company… from what I understand.
 
IronmanDaremo said:
The kid did ProKnow #2 on Monday after getting back from his overnight liberty. Didn't do so hot with it as he made some (his words) dumb mistakes. I asked what that meant for him, and he said will have some extra mandatory study time and has to write some letters. He was frustrated because he knew the material, just misread one question and only did half of another one ("list and describe" and only did the "list" part).

He said they have to get a 90 to pass. 80 - 89 is a "Company fail," 70 - 79 is a "Battalion fail," and 69 and under is a "Brigade fail," and a big old "Oh sh-t" moment. He didn't get THAT at least! ;)
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Missed 1.5 questions and did bad? How many questions it’s this test? And how bad is doing bad?
 
Parent1stTimer said:
I was a little surprised about the passing vs. failing number 90 or better! Seems like DS said that about Chemistry or Calc quizzes too, not just ProKnow. Seems like it is more of get an A or fail kind of prospect. Sure there is a reason. What happens with Battalion or Brigade level fails?
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I was told company was requiring a minimum of 95 …
 
My understanding is each company sets their minimum passing score. My DD’s company is 95 for passing.
 
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